Whenever an India vs Australia Test series comes up, it demands the attention of the world and rightly so. This contest is right up there among the best Test battles in our sport and looking at the history of this series, expect another hard-fought tussle between these two top sides in the world.
Playing India in India? The challenges and must-dos.
For any side coming to India, they must know that when they play a cricket match vs them in their backyard, they don’t just play against a team but the whole nation. The atmosphere in the stadiums and the buzz all over the country is unreal when a cricket match is on. To shut the noise becomes impossible as every wicket and run is cheered with roar, claps and whistles. The Indian fans’ support and passion for the game really has an effect on you as a player. For any player visiting India, that feeling is a very unique one and at the same time, very challenging because you need to perform under that pressure.
The second important point while playing in India is keeping patience and a lot of it. Be prepared to be patient. Things may look going one-way for a couple of sessions but it changes suddenly. There are phases in a Test match where it is going nowhere and suddenly a couple of wickets fall and you have a game in your hand. Thirdly, while it is important that you prepare for turn and bounce on those slow tracks, at the same time, the quick bowlers must not be totally neglected. Both the teams have quality pacers and at some stage in this series, you will have reverse swing playing a big role.
There are times in the game when you have played out spinners well in one session and right at the start of the next session, a Mohammed Siraj or Umesh Yadav comes and picks up 3 wickets and you are pushed on back foot as a team. You felt you did enough by tackling spin but the pacers send a reminder that it was not enough yet.
Talking about the tracks in India, whenever I toured India, I used to take low-middle bats than high-middle bats. The reason is that surfaces in India are a bit slower and lower. On those pitches, the low-middle bat can help bat better. It is all about making some small changes in techniques and tools when it comes to playing in foreign conditions which could make a big and positive impact on your game and this is something that the Aussies can try and do.
KL Rahul should open for India with Rohit
India are certainly going to miss Shreyas Iyer who is not available at least for first Test due to an injury. He is a big loss for the home side. In the last couple of years, he has been averaging over 55 and that really talks about his impact. With Iyer not being there, I would go with KL Rahul at the top and Shubman Gill at 5. For me, Gill has to play because of the form that he is in. However, I would not play him in the opening slot but in the middle order. Rishabh Pant too not in the squad and I am guessing India will opt for KS Bharat to fill in the shoes. It will be interesting to see whether Ravindra Jadeja is fit enough to play the first Test. If he is, he clearly comes straight into the side. I would probably play Axar Patel as well. If the pitch is spin-friendly, which is a likely scenario, playing three spinners makes sense with one among Mohammed Shami, Siraj and Umesh missing out.
As much as I want him in the playing XI, getting Suryakumar Yadav involved is difficult at this stage. But I think he must start playing Tests more often as he can be a solid multi-format player. For now, I am glad that the selectors are looking at him with the same lense.
Exciting match-ups
In a series as iconic as this, the battles within the battle make it even more fascinating. One such battle will be between Steve Smith and Virat Kohli. Both are world class players who have been consistent performers for their sides. Both the teams will have plans for them. How Aussies bowl at Kohli, who likes to dominate from the word go and how Indians bowl at Smith, who has a batting style of his own, would be an interesting watch.
I see Ashwin bowling to Smith with a leg slip and a short-leg, attacking the stumps. Indian quicks may want to bowl to Smith, wide of off stump. However, I feel bowling him at the stumps could get bowlers more success.
It’ll be fascinating to see if Australian pacers bowl outside off stump to Kohli f or a sustained period in a bid to get his wicket and keep run rate down.
The Lyon vs Ashwin sub plot is also amazing, isn’t it? Two masters of spin bowling who go about their job in different ways. Lyon generally bowls wide of off stump and gets the ball to come in sharply. Ashwin bowls at the stumps. It will be nice to see these two fierce competitors in a mini battle of their own in the series.
Australia’s headache – Who’ll bat at number 6?
Australia’s batting lineup looks good. There are good number of left-handers in their lineup which is quite interesting. The batting unit looks fine from 1 to 5 – Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith and Travis Head. I would be surprised if I don’t see these names on Thursday morning in India in the team sheet. The issue arises when the number 6 comes and here Pat Cummins and Co will have a decision to make. Cameron Green cannot still bowl. Will they play him purely as a batter or will they opt for left-handed Matt Renshaw or Peter Handscomb, who is a superb close-in fielder and someone like him could come handy on slow and low pitches in India around the bat-pad. In my opinion, Green is more than useful purely as a batter but I think Australians will make that final decision looking at the pitch and the balance of their side.
Not to forget, there will be no Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood for this Test too. They both definitely play if fit but that’s not the case anymore. So, the plans will be rejigged as told earlier, the call to go for an extra spinner or a pacer would be taken with the knowledge of the pitch. If the pitch looks to be helpful for spinners, we might see even an extra spinner in the XI. Otherwise, there is an option to give debut to Lance Morris.
